


Love Is Another Drug

by killajokejosie



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Best Friends, Emotional Sex, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Forbidden Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Realization, Recreational Drug Use, Smoking, True Love, amber tinted glasses, first real love, paint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-03-17 08:39:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3522755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killajokejosie/pseuds/killajokejosie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hyde thought he was jealous of Eric. He thought he wanted Donna. It only made sense because she was the beautiful, tall redhead they had grown up with. But, it is only after he moves in to the Forman household that it becomes clear that such wasn't the case at all. He wasn't in love with Donna, he was actually in love with his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Never To Suffer Would Never To Be Blessed

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fault of Netflix and of a stuffed blue rabbit and of the lovely L. Coleman, who was the brainchild behind the weird stories, Strictly Business Mister and the few stories about Abe Lincoln....I thank her everyday for being just as messed up as I am. I have no beta, but oh well.

It was ten o'clock. He had been trying to get to sleep for over an hour. He would have been fine had he not seen Donna and Eric basically having sex earlier. They knew that he was in the room, so it wasn't at all necessary. They both had their own rooms that they could have done that in. It only made matters worse. 

He had issues. His drunken mother and absentee father had made sure of that. Edna had been a mess for as long as he could remember. In all honestly, he didn't care if he heard her name ever again. His issues made him who he was. His issues made him a terrible person and forced him to be a good friend. His issues actually were probably the reason he was feeling this way.

 _Dammit. Dammit. Dammit._ He thought as he looked up at the ceiling in the darkness of the basement. At some point, he relocated to the loveseat in the main room, hoping he would be able to clear his head, but it wasn't working. Nothing was working. He hated that he was feeling the feelings he was feeling for who he felt them for. It ruined him. There was nothing more horrible than feeling feelings for someone who was so clearly unavailable. He didn't even believe in forbidden love, or whatever this crap was, unrequited, bullshit. Falling in love with his best friend was not part of the plan.

"Ah, fuck," He whispered, twiddling his thumbs and accepting that he was not going to be getting any shut eye anytime soon. For a moment, he considered throwing a hand down his pants, but there was no use. There was now a ten minute window for him to fall asleep before he dipped into his stash.

He sighed. He couldn't wrap his head around his newfound desires. 

There were footsteps on the floor above him. Someone was still awake, or at the very least, had been woken up by something. He listened closely, trying to figure out who it was walking around. It wasn't Red, the steps were not angry or heavy. It definitely was not Kitty. Laurie was still off at college. It had to be Eric. He sat up quickly, considering his options. He had the urge to go find him, he really needed to, to talk, but he didn't. He stayed in place. 

He inhaled the musky scent of Eric's basement. The room was still laced with his scent, but then again, it might have been the blanket. 

"I hate you, Eric," He took a deep breath. "I hate you so much,"

***

"You were talking in your sleep last night," Eric told him when he arrived in the kitchen in the morning. 

"Was I?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.  _How did he hear me?_

"Yeah, yeah, you were, because when I got up to get a drink last night I walked about three steps down into the basement and hear you talking, since it was dark, I, uh, figured you were asleep," Eric mumbled in his very Eric way. 

"Oh, hm,"

"Yeah, well, you were saying my name, you said you hated me," 

"Hm," Hyde had absolutely no idea what to say to him without it becoming incredibly awkward and weird all at once. 

Neither of them said another word to each other. The others joined them at the table. While they were remaining silent, everyone enjoyed their meals and carried on their normal conversations. It was just weird. No one commented on their quietness, not even when they barely made eye contact. 

***

After school the gang went down to the basement where they had spent so many afternoons basking in the high quality weed or whatever had been on tv. They were all there. Donna, Jackie, Fez, Kelso, Eric, and Hyde all sat where they wanted, waiting for anything to happen. 

 _You're all that I think about._ Hyde wanted to say it more than anything. He found himself looking at him, watching the way his hands moved, the way that he touched Donna. His nostrils flared. He really wanted to be where Donna was. The things that Eric's hands could do to him. 

"Hyde!" Donna shouted, under the impression that he was looking at her. 

There was no response.

"Hyde!" She shouted again, snapping her fingers in his face. It was so hard to tell with his dark glasses in the way. 

"Hey, Hyde, stop looking at my girl!" Eric shouted. His voice broke the maddening gaze he had been locked in.

"Oh," Hyde laughed. "Sorry, man, I was just so lost in Donna's unbelievable beauty...unbelievable because she is with you,"

Eric playfully shoved Hyde, but he just wasn't quick enough. Hyde caught him by the wrists and held him in place. "Let go,"

"No," Hyde muttered. "I will not,"

"Yes," Eric pulled away. 

A bout of laughter filled the room, but really, it only made things worse. Anyways, it was time for Steven to roll a joint. That would distract him, temporarily hopefully. 

They sat in a circle, passing the joint around. Once again, Eric was sitting beside Hyde. He was beginning to think that Eric knew something and was just hell bent on torturing him with his presence. _I'm not gay. I don't like guys. I like Eric, Eric isn't really like a guy. Ugh, that's it._

Hyde got up and left the room. He used the outside entrance and started off towards the street. If he couldn't clear his head this way, he was running off for good. He couldn't spend all his time with the one he loved when he couldn't even be with him. Living with him was a hell all its own.

That was when it hit him. Hard and fast like a punch to the gut. He buckled over and felt the nausea rise within him, wrecking him almost to the ground. Never had a realization killed him inside like this. He moved his glasses on top of his head and looked at the sky. Leaning against a the mailbox was the only way to stay upright. He was in love. A very different kind of love. He had it bad.

 _I love you, Eric Forman, more than life._ He put his glasses back on and took a few deep breaths. "DAMMIT!" 

"Why did you just run out like that? Are you okay?" Eric asked, coming up behind him.

Hyde turned his head in the direction of his best friend. "I'm fine,"

"You don't look fine,"

"Ta! Says the beanpole." Hyde grumbled.

"No, seriously, what is up with you, man. You have been acting weird all day."

"I...I...ugh...dammit, Forman!" He threw his head in his hands, mostly to avoid looking at Eric's eyes.

Eric reached out and placed a hand on Hyde's shoulder. "You know you can tell me, right?"

"Actually, you are the one person that I can't tell,"

Eric's eyes widened. "Oh my god, does this have to do with Donna?"

Hyde shook his head. "Nope,"

"Then what?"

"Ha," Hyde sighed. "Nope,"

"Hyde tell me!"

"I love you,"

Eric's mouth dropped open. "Huh? What? Why are you suddenly so sentimental all of a sudden?"

"You don't get it,"

"Then explain it to me,"

"I love you, what more can I say?"

"I love you, too?"

Hyde put a hand on top of Eric's head. "Let me add a word or two, make it make more sense to you, maybe, I'm in love with you,"

Eric backed up. His eyes were still as wide as could be. Hyde was waiting for them to fall out of his head, dangling by their bloody cables. At least, if that would happen it would break the tension. He shook his head. He was more taken aback then Hyde expected him to be.

"Are you going to say something?" Hyde asked after the silence became too much.

"Uh, um, uh..." Eric walked backwards, he tripped on a crack in the sidewalk.

Hyde held his hand out to help him up. Eric still looked a bit terrified. He pulled his hand away from Hyde immediately.

"I knew I should have kept my mouth shut," Hyde grumbled.

"You just can't go around saying things like that to people, without warning,"

"You asked me to tell you!"

"Yeah, but, but, I didn't think it was going to be anything like that!"

"Eh, forget this, I'm going to go get some beer or something from somewhere,"

"No, wait," Eric pulled him back.

Hyde moved in closer. The gap between him and Eric bridged almost completely. His breathing deepened with want. All of the things he could have done at that moment flashed through his mind in full color. He had a chance to kiss him.

Just as he was about to, Kelso came outside. "Are you two coming back or do you two lovebirds need more time?"

"We are not lovebirds!" Eric shouted defensively.

"Whatever, c'mon,"

 _That was close._  


	2. Believe Only Half of What You See And Nothing That You Hear

He never wanted things to get awkward, especially while he was living under Eric's roof. Eric was his best friend and not talking to him was definitely the worst part of his day. It wasn't natural to be in the same room as Eric without words being shared. In fact, they hadn't said barely three words to each other since he confessed his love to him. It couldn't remain like this. If Eric was not going to have a real conversation with him, if a few simple words ruined their friendship, he would only do the logical thing. He would leave. 

Of course, that was even less intelligent than it sounded. He had no where to go and few that would even consider letting him stay with them. He sighed, shaking his head. That was not even an option.  _Seriously._

"Can you just stop?" Eric asked, throwing his hands up at Hyde. 

Hyde's eyes grew as Eric's voice broke the ever growing silence that they had shared for over forty eight hours. The noise somehow managed to shake him to his very core. He swung his neck around in the direction of his best friend. "Stop what?"

Eric stood up to gain some power in the conversation. "Stop...st...stop not talking to me!"

"What?! Stop not talking to you!? Seriously! I could say the same thing, ya know! You haven't said anything to me, either," Hyde quickly rose to his feet to take back control.

Eric pointed a finger at Hyde, pressing it into his chest. "You started it,"

Hyde shoved Eric down, leaning down into the couch to express dominance in their pecking order. "Shut up, Forman! Yes, I was the one who put myself out there, but you asked me too. Yes, I haven't said a word to you since, but you have not even attempted to say anything to me. My heart was out on the line like a moron. Do you know how hard it was to even say that to you? Do you?! I've kept my emotions all bottled up until that point and I was just fine with the way things were. You are my best friend, Eric! I don't know what I would do without you!" 

Eric stared blankly. Even as he struggled internally to form some sort of words in response to what Steven said, he only found himself staring. It was unlike anything that he had ever felt before. That is, if he could even call this a feeling. He wasn't really sure what this was. All that he knew was that he was looking at Hyde and Hyde was incredibly vulnerable. 

"You really love me, though?" Eric asked, deciding he couldn't take Hyde hovering over him like this. 

"You know the answer to that. I made that ridiculously clear the other afternoon. I love you now like I loved you then and even if we never speak of it again, I'll continue to love you." He resisted the awful urge to just shut him up permanently and kiss him. 

"Can you, maybe, back off?"

"Uh, sure," Steven took a few steps back, returning to his seat. 

The silence returned. They glanced at each other every few moments, just to see if something had changed on the other's face. The tension built to the point where Hyde could barely breathe. When he wasn't thinking about throwing Eric down, he was thinking about taking a knife to his wrists. Still, they had spoken, finally and that meant something. 

"Hyde?" Eric mumbled.

"Whhaaaat?" Hyde dragged out the word, knowing all too well how likely this was to turn into another argument. That is, if one could call the stupid outbursts they managed to have actual arguments. Then again, at least, arguments had a point to them. 

"I love you, too," He paused. "Not that I want to jump into bed with you, but I do care about you more than I care about any of my other friends."

"I appreciate your lukewarm responses, really, I do," Hyde finally decided to be the catalyst for change. He got up, to leave this time, his bed was a better place than this. 

***

Eric had been feeling a distant pull with Donna, lately. What transpired with Hyde had only made things worse. Donna had been spending more time with Jackie and Fez and the new guy at school than she had been spending time with Eric. At first, it bothered him, but he slowly stopped caring. He figured that he saw her enough. They had school, and they had their friends, they were neighbors for god's sake. 

The distant pull was there, tugging lightly on his heart strings the same way that thinking of Hyde's love for him did. Which was weird. He never thought anything like that would ever cross his mind. He was just fine accepting that Hyde was sorta gay for him and that was that. It might have been Donna's fault, in all reality, because she was so enamored by the new guy. It may have left some sort of void. Hyde, his best friend, was capable of comfort. 

Or, maybe, he actually felt that way about him to begin with and this was just its crazy way of manifesting itself. Stars were aligning somewhere, working together in perfect harmony. Or he was just crazy.

He needed to see Donna. That would be enough to set him straight, literally or figuratively.

_And here goes nothing._

He walked over to Donna's house. Bob was gone, probably off doing something strange with Midge. It was the perfect opportunity. 

She flung open the door right as he approached the front door. The expression on her face was shock. "Eric?" 

"Yes, it is I, Eric, your loving boyfriend," He said.

She rolled her eyes. "I am studying, you should probably be too,"

"Can I come in?" 

"Nope, you are way too distracting to have over here," 

The new guy.  _Why can't I remember his name?_ He was in there. He wasn't distracting, apparently. "I see,"

Donna glanced back at the guy and smiled. It was not a smile that made him feel less odd about it. What made him different from the other guy. 

"What the hell, Eric? You're looking at me like I fricken just killed your best friend?" 

 _My best friend,_ He cringed. The good news was that Hyde was definitely not dead. "I just...don't get why Mr. Special back there can be with you and I can't."

"Eric, you need to leave. You need to study. I told you that already. Go home, Eric!"

He shook her head. Then he immediately headed back for his basement. His emotions were safer there. 

 _I just don't get it._ Eric paced around the loveseat, circling it rather frequently to get his mind off of it all. Sure, on a technicality he should have probably been studying, but he could have been with her just like...whatever that guy's name was. 

"Maybe she is cheating on me with him," He muttered, running his hands through his hair. 

Hyde came out of his bedroom. He gave Eric a strange glare and plopped himself down on the loveseat that he was still walking around. 

"Donna won't let me in her house right now, she has that other guy in the house," Eric continued, this time speaking loud enough for Hyde to hear him clearly. 

Hyde rolled his eyes and attempted to direct all attention to the television that was always on. He didn't realize exactly how difficult that was going to be with Eric constantly walking in front of him. "Stop, stop, stop!" He shouted, throwing his hands up.

"She's cheating on me!" Eric bursted out. 

"Sit down, would ya!" Hyde shouted back. He was beginning to feel like almost every time he opened his mouth he was raising his voice in some sort of anger. Not that he wasn't angry most of the time, but it was getting more and more frequent. It was Eric's fault. 

Eric sat down beside his best friend and turned towards him. "I can't figure out why she would do this to me,"

"You don't even know if she was actually cheating on you, why are you freaking out?" Hyde asked, finding this calm voice he didn't know that he had. He bit his lip to hold back because he was another few seconds from shouting again.

"She let him in, but not me, what else could be going on?"

"Studying. They are friends. You are her boyfriend. Dammit, Eric! Everytime the two of you have a stupid fight, and calling this a fight is probably giving it too much merit, you come running to me and try to get me to say that you are right and she is wrong. Then it passes over and you two are fine. It is stupid. I am done with it. I am not going to be here for you to complain about Donna forever. It hurts me to see you like this and I think you know it!" 

Eric scooted closer and wedged his hand in the small gap where their thighs met. He turned the palm towards Steven's thigh and ran it up to his hip bone. 

"What are you doing?" Hyde asked. 

"I was just curious to what it felt like. I've only touched Donna's thigh so...I thought that I would try you on."

Hyde grabbed Eric's hand and threw it away from him. "Well don't,"

Eric stood up, ready to walk away. Hyde shut his eyes to avoid making contact with the thin frame he wanted to touch for so long. It wasn't working. He stood up. It really wasn't working. "Don't go,"

"What?"

"You can stay down here with me for the night, you won't have to think about her tonight, just my room. I have beer." Steven said, grabbing Eric's hands. 

Eric chewed on his bottom lip, searching for the right words to say. All he could think about was Hyde's rough hands holding his and the fact that for some reason he wanted him to keep them there. 

Steven let go of Eric's hands and replaced them on his neck. Their foreheads were touching before he knew it. "You don't have to say anything,"


	3. From Childhood's Hour I Have Not Been As Others Were

Steven decided to take control. He was sick of listening to all of Eric's bull crap with Donna. That wasn't going to happen anymore. He was going to take care of Eric for the rest of their days. He pulled Eric in close. Their lips were less than an inch apart. He breathed him in, loving the scent and all that was his best friend, his foster brother for all intent and purpose. Eric was everything that he wanted for the rest of his life. That was enough of a catalyst. He was already so close. So he kissed him. Deeply and perfectly. 

Eric pulled away. "No,"

Steven didn't listen. He pressed his lips up against Eric's again. This time the kiss was harder, deeper, and more incredible. It had been built up inside of him for far too long. 

Eric pulled away once more, only this time he had a slight smirk on his swollen lips. He leaned back in, allowing Hyde to kiss him however he wanted. And, he did. He wrapped his arms around Eric's waist and bridged any gap that was there. With their bodies pressed up against each other the direction that everything was going was clear. Hyde had wanted Eric like this. 

_This was really happening._

As the kissing continued Steven started to walk Eric into his tiny room by the furnace. He laid him down on his back, only allowing Eric enough time to catch his breath before he jammed his tongue deep inside his best friend's mouth. He couldn't believe how much he loved the taste. 

Suddenly, he was being held at bay by a pair of long, nimble fingers pushing on his shoulders. "You...what you...are?" He mumbled. 

He kissed Eric's forehead. "Forman, I...I think you know,"

Eric nodded, hands slipping up to Hyde's neck as he pulled him down to kiss him again. Even despite everything that he should have been thinking, all of the warning signs that he should have been receiving, he didn't want to stop. The weight of the lean muscled man on top of him was lovely. He loved him. 

"Make love to me," Eric whispered in Steven's ear. "Make love to me, Steven," He nipped at his earlobe, finding the noise that came from him excited him. He already knew that Hyde was hard, he could feel his erection pressing against his thigh. 

Hyde moved his mouth down to Eric's collar bone. He teased his skin in all the right places. He moved one of his hands up Eric's untucked shirt and found his nipples. He played with each of them, giving them equal attention until they were hard enough to cut glass. Then, without another second to spare, he ran his other hand down Eric's buttons with a swooping motion that left his chest exposed. It was perfect. He watched for a moment, allowing the boy beneath him to heave his chest in anticipation. 

"Perhaps, you didn't hear me, Hyde, I want you inside of me," He bucked his hips to grind into Hyde's crotch just to let him know how ready he was. 

One of Hyde's eyebrows shot up. He kissed him again. He could not believe how much he loved the beautiful boy beneath him. Fate decided to bring them together now, this was meant to be. 

In no time at all they were both naked. A glistening sweat had already covered both of their bodies and their breathing was getting heavier. They both used what little space they had on the cot and positioned themselves in the best way possible. Hyde grabbed a hold of Eric's manhood and began stroking. It was easy. It was simple. It made sense. He knew just where to touch him as if he had done it thousands of times before. Eric seemed to fall into every motion, just as Hyde wanted. The light moans escaping from his full pink lips as he threw his head back were almost too much. 

Hyde contemplated sucking Eric off, but he was sick of waiting. He shoved a pillow underneath the small of Eric's back to prop him up. He shoved one of his fingers into Eric's bum. The smaller male winced at the strange, foreign feeling. That was the last thing he expected.

"Are you okay?" Hyde asked.

"Yes, yes, of course, just wasn't prepared for the way it feels,"

Hyde kissed Eric's cheek. Then he followed up by shoving another finger inside of him. He moved them in and out slowly, doing his best to make sure that Eric was comfortable before he tried anything drastic. Eric sighed. Third finger was next.

"Stop teasing me," Eric sighed.

"Okay," Steven nodded. 

He slid down to be level with Eric's perfect ass. He never realized just how impressive it was until it was unclothed. He was going to enjoy every bit of him. His tongue graced over the tight entrance. Eric shuddered in delight. It was time.

He moved back up into position with a hand on his shaft. He pushed the head against the tight, velvet warmth he wanted to be a part of. Eric's lips parted, but he didn't make a sound. That was Steven's cue. He thrusted all the way in and found a perfect rhythm as it all came together. Eric's legs wrapped around his waist and squeezed, making Hyde thrust even harder. The muffled cries coming from both of them let the other know just how good it felt. 

It was weirdly beautiful. It was weirdly horrid.

Everything became a blur. Steven felt his body heat increase. Eric looked to be one in the same. He gave it all that he had for the big finish. With one final, hard thrust he sent them both flying over the edge. Eric's back arched as he clawed his way down Hyde's back as he called out his name in completion. His load shot all over his belly just as he was filled up with another's. 

Steven pulled out, but made sure to give Eric a little bite where he least expected it. He ran his fingers through the signs of Eric's orgasm. "Is this all for me?" 

Eric giggled, catching his partner by the mouth. 

"I'll take that as a yes," Steven chuckled in response.

"That was amazing," Eric took a deep breath. "You are so much bigger than I thought you would be,"

"Eh, that is probably because you have never had that done to you before,"

"Maybe, but I loved it,"

"Good, I did too," Hyde could not believe how big the smile on his face was. 

"I love you," Eric whispered.

"I love you, too,"

And somehow, they had forgotten what brought them to that moment in the first place.

***

Eric woke up with the muscular arm of his best friend wrapped around him. The tiny, uncomfortable cot had turned into a wonderful place to sleep after their night of discovery. He felt Steven's curly hair brush against his neck. He was still asleep. It was nice.

"Hyde?" Eric whispered.

He got no response. 

"Hyde," He said a bit louder.

Still nothing.

"Steven!" He shouted in the quietest voice capable of portraying such a word. 

He turned around in Hyde's arms to face him. Sleepy, dark eyes opened to look at him. A soft smile came over his face just in time to brighten Eric's day. "Good morning,"

"Very good morning," Eric added.

"How are you feeling? Head a bit clearer?" Steven recalled the look on Eric's face when he entered a new kind of head space.

Eric propped himself up on his elbow. "I think I...no, I know that I want to be with you, I...we should be together,"

Steven kissed Eric's cheek. "I've been thinking that for a long, long time,"

Eric nestled himself into Steven's chest, inhaling deeply the scent of sweat, sex, and just a hint of smoke. It was the best smell. 

"I know one thing's for sure, we should do that again sometime," Eric mumbled, his voice vibrating against his new lover.

The man with no conscience suddenly decided to have one over his other best friend. "Donna, what about Donna?"

"She was cheating on me, I have no regrets,"

"That is not what I was talking about,"

"Oh,"

He took a nice handful of Eric's ass. "I guess we can talk about it later," 


	4. I Was Never Really Insane Except When My Heart Was Touched

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much hate the way that this chapter turned out, but I want to get down to the nitty gritty and the real story of Eric and Hyde's romantic relationship so I needed to quickly sever whatever ties were left between Eric and Donna. Sorry, not sorry.

"I think you have reached a whole new level of demented, why would you leave this for me?" Eric whispered to Hyde, shoving the piece of crumpled up paper into his hand.

Hyde took it with a strange look on his face. "I'm not trying to be demented, I'm trying to be romantic," No one else had arrived in the kitchen yet that morning so he took that as an opportunity to explain.

But, Eric was not ready to allow anything further. He was still completely unsure of how this weird written nonsense could be romantic. "That's weird, 'The wind came out of the cloud by night, chilling and killing my Annabel Lee?"

"Edgar Allan Poe," Hyde muttered, giving the paper back to the thin brunette. "Why don't you actually read the whole thing, Forman? At least the next few lines?"

Eric cleared his throat as he uncrumpled the note. "'But our love it was stronger by far than the love, of those who were older than we, of many far wiser than we, And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Could never dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee.'"

"See?"

Eric blushed. "Oh my god," He reached out and grabbed Hyde's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Since when are you into poetry?"

"Who is into poetry?" Called Kitty as she entered the kitchen, a bit shocked by Eric and Steven sitting with glasses of orange juice with the paper laid out in front of them. Eric had pulled his hand away just in time. 

"Hyde!" Eric blurted out, since he was good at that. "Hyde is!"

"Oh!" Kitty cried, walking over to Steven and catching him in a loving, exciting embrace. "Steven, what are you reading?"

"Poe," Hyde felt like he was about to begin a very similar conversation with the woman who took him in. "It is Annabel Lee,"

"Poe?" Kitty's back stiffened. "He is so very....sad..."

"Annabel Lee is a love poem," Eric added, hiding just how giddy he was about being given the poem now that he actually knew what it meant.

"Oh, okay," Kitty stepped away to the other part of the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast. It would only be a matter of time before Red joined them at the table. It was brilliantly awkward, but there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do about it.

In a way, Eric had wished that he had 'I love Hyde' written on his forehead so that he didn't have to go through the trouble of telling anyone later. That especially meant Donna, who he had not spoken to since he thought she cheated on him the day before. It was going to be harder to tell her even with the potential hurt that she had caused. She hadn't even made an effort to come over there that morning. So very, very strange.

Hyde folded the piece of paper up neatly and slipped it back to Eric. He gave him a knowing look that he desperately hoped was understood. Eric gave him a slight nod and a smile. Message received. That was all that was important.

***

The basement had a thick air of tension building up within its confines. Hyde leaned back in his chair, glasses on, and glared at the ceiling. Fez was rambling on about some girl, or perhaps it had been a type of candy? The girl? Her name might have actually been Candy. Honestly, Hyde didn't care at that point. Kelso and Jackie were being Kelso and Jacking, suffering through an off period of their on and off. The day that one of them realized that they were absolutely terrible for each other would be the day that everyone could join in on the zen that he had lived with for so long.

"And then...Candy..." Fez continued on, no one listening to him in the slightest.

None of it mattered. The only thing that Hyde was worried about, though he hated to admit it, was where Eric was. Well, he knew that Eric was with Donna, but he was worried about the moment that Eric walked in. There was no way around the fact that it was going to cause some issues. Accusing your significant other of cheating and confessing to cheating in the same conversation never ended well.

"How come no one is replying to me?" Fez asked in his thick, occasionally annoying accented voice.

"Because no one cares about the candy!" Hyde shouted. He didn't mean to, but he was literally incapable of listening to whatever Fez had to say and thinking about Eric at the same time. It was going to kill him. Slowly and painfully, but it would kill him no less.

Fez's eyes widened in shock. He tried to become one with the loveseat, rather unsuccessfully however, to avoid any flying wrath coming from the now standing Hyde. Hyde groaned, throwing his hands up in the air and walking to his bedroom. At the very least, he could deal with his own personal brand of stupid by himself. Until Eric came home, that is.

"What is his problem?" Fez asked.

Jackie turned her head, arms still crossed to show how angry she was at Kelso for whatever dumb thing he had said, and rolled her eyes. "Who cares?"

***

Eric was really bad at this. No matter how many times he tried to bring it up, he failed and ended up switching the subject. Either way that he put it, it gave him a massive headache. One he was not prepared for, at that. All through dinner, not his best idea (but better a public place where a scene could not be caused), he had sat twiddling his thumbs or playing with silverware. He only very infrequently looked up at Donna who had already spent most of the night accusing him of being too quiet. Her words only making the whole situation that much worse.

Finally, it seemed as if a pocket of time had opened up and allowed him the perfect moment to speak candidly about the way he felt, which was bad no matter what.

"Donna, we really need to talk," He began.

Her facial expression expressed only the utmost surprise that Eric was actually speaking. "Really? You remember how to do that?"

"Uh, well, yeah,"

"Then you should keep talking," She insisted that he move forward.

He took a deep breath. "Uh, I...um..." He nervously ran his fingers through the back of his hair, still trying to grasp the proper words.

"What? What?"

"I..." He attempted to level his breathing. Any more of this crap and he would be convulsing on the floor as a stress seizure took over. He would rather have a heart attack. 

"Eric, I am going to kick you in the shin if you don't say something,"

"I...I slept with someone," Now that the words had come out of his mouth he could not be happier that they were in a public place. Donna's face instantly showed off just how pissed off she was.

"You cheated on me? With who!?" Her tone of voice echoed angry, but she kept up on being quiet enough for the neighboring tables not to hear. 

"Ha...hy..."

"Heather? Heidi? Who the hell was it, Eric?"

He cleared his throat. "Hyde,"

Donna felt like she had been hit by a car. Her mouth was agape and thoughts were spinning through her head so fast that she was certain that she was going to hurl. Everytime she tried to speak, she struggled to get any words out. 

"Now you are not talking, which is better than you trying to kill me, generally speaking of course,"

"You slept with Hyde? Hyde Hyde? Steven Hyde who lives in your parent's basement? Is this some kind of sick joke to get back at me?" Her inability to speak didn't last very long. 

"Yes, okay, that Hyde. I thought that you were cheating on me with that guy and Hyde sort of came to my rescue, comforting me." Eric explained, lightly.

"Hyde likes guys? Why did he do that? You are my boyfriend! I wasn't...I didn't...ah..." She collected herself. "I thought about it though. I don't know why, but I did. I was at one point willing to throw everything away that I had with you for him. That is why I didn't let you in. I kissed him. I have only ever been with you long term and I wanted to know if there was anything that I was missing, but I didn't do anything. I guess, you did?" She was a big girl, she didn't let herself cry. 

"Well, then," Eric mumbled. This was much easier than he thought it would be. 

"Do you...like guys?" Donna asked, sipping her drink.

"Yeah, I think that I do. Hyde, at the least. He loves me. I, um, uh, love him, too." 

She looked down at her plate, stirring food around. "Do you love me?"

"Of course, Donna, but you gotta admit that there is something wrong with our relationship if we both looked for intimacy in the arms of another guy." 

Donna raised one of her eyebrows at him, trying so hard not to picture Hyde laying on top of him naked. "When you put it that way...oh god, what is wrong with us?"

"Exactly,"

"Does this mean we are breaking up?"

Eric sighed. "I think that it does,"

She put a hand on her forehead. "Damn,"

_How is she not crying when I am dying on the inside from being such an asshole?_

***

Steven ran his fingertips along Eric's arm that was resting in his lap. It had been at least fifteen minutes since he passed out on the loveseat with his head on Hyde's shoulder, arms wrapped around him. He came home in tears, but Hyde took care of it right away with his special brand of comforting. He never thought that he would want to cuddle like this, but he found that he was rather enjoying it. This is where Eric was supposed to be. 

Kitty wandered down the stairs with some of the laundry. "Steven, what are you still doing up? It is a school night."

He turned his head toward her. "Shh...Eric fell asleep on me and I didn't want to wake him up. He came in pretty upset, he and Donna broke up or something,"

"Well, isn't that sweet that his best friend is looking out for him like that? You try to deny it all you want, Steven, but you have a heart of gold." She told him with one hand on her chest, loading the washer. 

"Eh, whatever," Hyde grumbled, trying to shove off the appearance of having any real emotions behind his glasses. 

After she left to go back to the main floor of the house Steven leaned his head on Eric's. He loved the smell of his hair, a weird mixture of shampoo and cotton. He linked his fingers with the boy in his lap and allowed himself to drift into a very protective sleep. 

 


	5. The Best Things In Life Make You Sweaty

Eric's hair was soaking wet even before he got into the shower. His entire body was glistening in a sexual shimmer. A cold shower was the only way to come back from such magnificent love.

At first, he was not at all supportive of the idea Hyde had. The bathroom mirror was the last place that he wanted to be facing while he was pleasured. The whole house was empty, was going to be for several hours, but positioning Eric with his legs spread on either side of the sink seemed to be the best option. In the end, Eric was loving it completely, not bothered by the view of his face.

And, that tongue in his ass could not have been more incredible. He came so hard that he was certain his head was going to slam forward and crack the glass of the mirror. The foggy haze that surrounded them left moisture on said mirror with Eric's handprints dragging down it. It wasn't over yet. That was clear. Hyde still wanted his share.

Which is why the water was running.

Also, it was why Eric found himself up against the wall, face almost smashed into the tile from the pressure of Hyde's large hand pressed against it. The water helped with the preparation, which was virtually nonexistent, allowing Hyde to take control full force. He continuously slammed all of his thick rod into Eric's backside. He loved the sound it made as their bodies connected again and again. There was no doubt that he would be letting off in no time. 

"Ahh...are...you cu?" Eric tried to ask, but could barely get the words out in between Hyde's thrusts.

Hyde quickly pulled out. "Yes," He grabbed Eric by the hair and threw him down on his knees in front of him. Three strokes and the flick of Eric's tongue later and Hyde was propelled into a leg shaking orgasm. Eric's mouth and face collected most of it, the rest washing away in the stream of the water. 

The curly haired man dropped to his knees to be level with his lover. He took him into his arms and shared a lusty, wild kiss, not caring about the fluids at all. 

"God damn, I love you," He whispered.

"I love you, too," Eric mumbled as his lips found a new home on Hyde's neck. 

They were in another embrace when they heard a loud 'Dammit' from the floor below. 

"Is that Red?" Hyde asked.

"I'm not sure, let me think, um yes,"

"We should probably put some clothes on,"

"Actually, I should get to my room because no matter what we say the two of us coming out of the bathroom together, wet, is not gonna look good," Eric explained.

"Mmmhmm, good idea," Hyde nodded. "I'll stay behind,"

***

Hyde cracked his knuckles, waiting for the bell to ring that would allow him to escape from the school. He wanted to see Eric. In fact, he would have even went as far as to say that he needed to see Eric. His heart ached. He hated to admit it, but he was completely sure that Eric was his soul mate. He loved him, he had loved him, and always would. 

 _Finally._ He got out of his seat and raced for the door. He was going to need a cigarette if he didn't get his fix. He rushed through the halls past all of the mindless teenagers working towards the door so he could get to the Vista Cruiser. 

He got in the passenger seat, waiting for the others. Eric was first to join, giving them at least ninety seconds by themselves. "How goes it, Beautiful?" Hyde asked, beaming like a moron. 

"Beautiful?" Eric repeated the word as if he had never heard it before. 

"Yes, Eric, beautiful," Hyde continued on his path to being a lovestruck idiot. "You're beautiful."

"Wow," Eric giggled. 

Hyde took one of Eric's hands and kissed the top of it romantically, only to release it suddenly when the back doors opened so the others could get in the car. 

"How did you guys get in here so fast?" Kelso asked, scratching his head to cement the part of him that would always be a moron. Hyde found it pretty fantastic.

"We don't dick around like you dillholes, that is how," Hyde said reaching back and slugging him in the shoulder. 

"Anybody know where Fez is?" Eric wanted to make sure that everyone who was going home with him was in the car. 

"He is walking home with some girl, some nerd girl," Jackie explained.

Hyde laughed. "That doesn't surprise me,"

Eric gave Hyde a strange look. It was better when it was just the two of them in the car. He didn't have time for that much stupid in his life, even with his now ex-girlfriend in the car the intelligence levels were not high at all. He shook his head and started to drive, certain that said ex-girlfriend was going to find a way to bring up the awkward situation. In fact, he was pretty sure he needed to put a cap on that before it got out of hand. 

"By the way, don't," Hyde pointed back at the tall redhead in the back seat. "I know, you know, so don't,"

Donna squinted her eyes. "Shut up,"

"Would ya both shut up?" Eric asked, trying to keep himself from being distracted while driving. 

***

When Hyde sat down on the loveseat the gang seemed to give him an evil eye. That was not HIS chair and he had only sat there when he had been with Jackie, an awful and disturbing chapter in all of their lives, so him sitting there was apparently taboo. It was apparently made worse by Eric sitting beside him. His arm was already along the back of the loveseat so no one would notice him brushing his fingers against Eric's shoulder. Except Donna, that is, she was aware and giving them all kinds of glares. Other than that, the only thing anyone wanted to talk about was Hyde sitting in a different spot. 

Hyde was off in zen land. He was only thinking of terribly naughty things he could do to his new boyfriend. In front of everyone else they had to play best friends/almost practically foster brothers, but in between the sheets was a whole different ball game. 

Donna could tell. Hyde might have been hiding behind his tinted glasses, but unfortunately she could see right through him. She knew what kind of man he was and she knew exactly what kind of relationship he was in with Eric. 

She didn't think she was going to be this upset. It had been fine up until this point. Perhaps, it was because she hadn't actually seen any affection shared between the two. Before, it was more like a figment of her imagination. Hyde's fingertips on Eric drove her almost mad. She had to dig her own hands into the cushions in order to keep herself from doing something stupid. It had been hard enough just trying to stay quiet about it.

Eric yawned in order to move his arm around Hyde's shoulders. They kept giving each other little looks that barely contained their undying passion that was looking for an escape. They couldn't wait for everyone to leave. 

"You two are awfully quiet," Donna finally decided that she could keep her mouth shut. "Mind tellin' the rest of us why that is?" 

Eric looked at her, taken aback by her decision to throw him and Hyde under the bus. She had been hardly understanding of the mess that was the two of them together, she could not have thought that it would be a good idea to fill everyone else in on what was going on. "Uh, Donna, I don't know what you are talking about,"

"Sure you do," She urged him to move forward. "We don't keep secrets around here,"

"Um..."

"We are throwing a party for Red," Hyde blurted. It was the first thing that came to his mind, but the more he thought about it the more it sounded like the most ridiculous thing he could have said.

"Oh, really?" Kelso asked. "For what?"

"Um..." Eric was striking out with this one.

"His birth...day?" Hyde suggested, knowing it was close to his birthday, but not close enough. 

"Um..." Eric kept opening his mouth even though he literally had nothing to say. 

"Dammit, Eric!" Hyde shouted, rising from his seat and leaving the basement when everything became a little bit too much. 

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?" Eric asked.

"Because," Donna smacked Eric's forehead. He needed that. 


	6. Men Have Called Me Mad: but The Question Is Not Yet Settled

If he was going to be in this situation every few days there was going to be some serious problems. Beyond serious problems. He did love him, that was the main reason that he had followed after him, but that didn't excuse it from happening. Hyde was practically a flight risk already being the child of the infamous Edna, but this was absolutely ridiculous in every way, shape, and form that he could think of. 

When he caught up with Hyde he reached out and grabbed him by the arm, using all of his strength to yank him up against him. "And just where do you think you are going?" He asked, wrapping his arms around Hyde's waist.

"Ha, apparently I am not going anywhere, it appears that the skinny nerd that I live with has trapped me in a loving embrace, and outside..." Hyde kissed Eric's forehead. "...must not be that afraid of our friends finding out."

Eric nuzzled into Hyde's chest, tightening the grip he had. He loved the way that Hyde smelled. He could never get enough of him. The honeymoon stage had definitely set in. He looked up and took Hyde's glasses off. He loved Hyde's stormy blue eyes, possibly more than his scent. "You're so sexy,"

Hyde grabbed his glasses back from Eric. "Hilarious, absolutely hilarious,"

They shared another kiss. Quick and simple, but fantastic. Little did they know that Jackie had been sent to check on them since Kelso determined that they would have to rotate out if Hyde continued to storm out with Eric trailing behind him. She saw the end of the kiss. Her jaw dropped and she immediately clamped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from squealing. She waited until Eric and Hyde were simply pressing their foreheads together and smiling. At least she had found the perfect blackmail if she ever did need it. 

"Ahem," She cleared her throat to let the two boys know she was standing there.

They separated, acting as if they had been wrestling rather than kissing. There was horror in their faces that entertained Jackie to the fullest extent. They had no idea how long she had been standing there and what she had really seen.

"Hey, Jackie," Hyde muttered, running his hand through his fro. "What do you want?"

"Well, I was sent to check on you guys,"

"Yeah, and?" Hyde pressed.

"I was not expecting to see all of that, however," She said with her hands on her hips. 

"See what, exactly?" He continued, he knew how to play the tiny girl like a fiddle. 

"You and Forman kissing," She said, sassy as ever. She leaned forward to show just how much she was the ring leader. Which, oddly enough, made Hyde picture her dressed as a ring leader. 

"We weren't kissing. That is disgusting. I'm not gay!" Hyde shouted in a defensive tone. "He might be, but I'm not!"

"You both are. I saw it. Eric had his arms wrapped around you and you were kissing." Jackie shot back. 

Eric had all, but shrank down to the size of a mouse at this point. He was so very quiet.

"Alright, fine, whatever, Jackie, Eric and I were kissing,"

Eric broke his silence. "HEY!"

"Shut up, Eric, you are just a guilty as I am, it takes two to do what we did!"

"Ewww," Jackie shuddered. "I can't believe I used to make out with someone who kisses Eric."

"Seriously?" Eric was oh-so-sick of Jackie's insults.

"You can't tell anyone about this," Hyde began to pace. "You need to be completely quiet. I know that is hard for you, but no one else can find out about this."

"Why not? Donna knows, now Jackie knows, why not tell everyone?" Eric asked sarcastically. 

"I had a feeling Donna knew," Hyde shook his head. "You were supposed to break up with her, not spill details about our sex life!"

"Ewww! You are sleeping together too?"

Hyde put his head in his hands. "Oh my god, how did you not draw that conclusion?"

"Okay, okay, okay, alright, let's stop and talk about this. We have to go back into the basement sometime or they are going to think something is up. How about this, we all walk in together and I can get you guys to do stuff for me for as long as I keep silent?"

"Yes," Hyde sighed. "Fine,"

"Really?!" Eric shouted in fear, only to get kicked in the shin by heavy boot.

***

The worst trio to ever to grace the earth returned to the basement. Jackie entered first with a huge smile on her pretty face. The newest couple in Point Place walked in behind her. They had given her the upper hand. She had complete control and the ability to work her blackmail magic over them at any given moment. Yes, it did keep her from opening her mouth, but at the same time Eric was not a fan of being the slave to the one girl in their circle who he had not slept with (he did give it some thought once, but that was while under the influence because she was just too loud). Hyde had slept with her though, and not Donna, so maybe it evened things out.

Little did Eric know, there was more going on in his man's head than he thought.

"It is about time you came back down here, we were about to light up without you," Kelso laughed.

"Better not have, because that stuff is mine," Hyde threatened.

Kelso shrugged it off and waved everyone over. Hyde and Eric sat next to each other again, closer this time. Hyde slowly moved his arm around Eric's waist. It was dark enough, they were sitting close enough, and it felt right. Eric squinted his eyes at him, still unaware of where this was going. 

When the joint reached their part of the circle, things got interesting. Hyde purposely grabbed it by awkwardly reaching over Eric. He inhaled the smoke, holding it in for just a moment. He finished up the show by grabbing the back of Eric's head and pulling him in close, sharing the smoke in a kiss. The room fell dangerously quiet. Hyde broke the kiss and gave a wink to his friends. Eric was still pretty speechless as he was forced by Hyde's hand to rest on his shoulder. They were off the hook. 

No one said anything.

They just kept passing the joint around the circle.

It went on for at least five minutes. Everyone just stared at them, except of course Jackie who clenched her fists and sent daggers in her glare. 

Fez was the first to speak. "Um, can someone bring up the elephant in de room ala, Hyde kissing Eric?"

Kelso gulped. "No,"

"Anyone else?" Hyde asked, looking directly at Jackie.

"Real?" Jackie said, acting like she hadn't a clue about them. 

"Very real," Hyde laughed and laid a kiss on the top of Eric's head. Sure, their friends were being annoyingly awkward, but now they didn't have to hide their new relationship. Hyde was not a very sentimental man, but he was proud of his partner and he was not afraid of their friends. 

"What are your parents gonna do when they find out they have two gay sons?" Kelso asked randomly.

Eric lifted his head up. "One, they have one,"

"But?"

"ONE!" The rest of the group shouted. There was no need for all of that nonsense.

***

"I've always kind of known," Hyde whispered.

 

 


	7. Sometimes I'm Terrified Of My Heart; Of It's Constant Hunger For Whatever It Wants. The Way It Stops And Starts.

"You have kind of always known what?" Eric asked, wondering what the heck Hyde was talking about. 

"I am gay as gay gets, I think, always liked boys a little, more than a little, I'm gay, Eric," It felt good to say it. To admit it, mostly to himself, for the first time. He tucked his sunglasses into the top of his shirt at looked Eric in the eyes. There was a huge weight lifting off of his shoulders and it was wonderful. He took a deep breath.  _Oh my. What have I done?_

"Well, that does kind of help our situation, doesn't it?" Eric laughed, placing a hand on Hyde's shoulder. 

"This is not a joke, I'm being serious," Hyde sighed. 

Both of Eric's eyebrows raised. "Oh," He fumbled to complete a sentence. "You're coming out to me,"

"I guess that is one way to put it," He felt a pang in his chest that was so new that it hurt. 

"Why did you bother with any women then?" 

"Because we live in a world where it is not okay to be like me, this small town is not very accepting of guys like us. At a very young age Edna had it practically beaten into me that I was disgusting..." Hyde trailed off.

Eric caressed Hyde's cheek. "Why did you stop?" 

Hyde dropped his guard. His walls were completely down for the first time in his life. Eric made him feel comfortable with himself. He knew now that his world would never be the same without Eric in it. He was in love. A small tear escaped his eye. 

Eric quickly brushed his thumb up to catch it. He tasted the moisture. It was salty. "It is real,"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up already," 

"Can you tell me what it was that hurt you so bad?"

"Maybe some other time, hm?" Hyde suggested, sunglasses back on his face. He leaned in and kissed Eric. Just a simple peck, but it was fantastic and loving.

They had forgotten where they were. The two had gotten so wrapped up in the moment that the light peck had turned into something much more than that. Hyde pushed Eric down onto his back and tortured him with his hands. He found new ways to get Eric to moan. Hyde slid his hands up Eric's shirt and played with his nipples. Eric cried out just as Hyde smashed his hand over his mouth to stifle the sound. They both giggled. 

The back door opened. Steven's eyes enlarged as he backed off of Eric. "Who is that?"

"Probably my mom," Eric muttered. "Why did we think the living room was a good idea?"

"Good question," 

Kitty sat her things down on the kitchen counter then she walked into the room where Eric and Hyde had been kissing. They were both breathing heavy, out of fear of getting caught, and they both seemed to be shimmery with the sweat that came from their shared body heat. She looked at them with an awkward glance. She knew something was going on, she just didn't know what, but she was determined to find out.

She took a seat between the boys and placed her hands on their shoulders. "So, how has your day been?"

"Good, good," They both said nervously in almost perfect unison. 

"Now that isn't suspicious at all, what have you two been up to?"

"Eh, Mrs. Forman, Eric is just kinda crying about him and Donna, I have been trying to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid," Hyde chuckled. He was on a roll. He had an excuse for almost everything.

"Uh!" Eric chirped. 

Kitty ignored her son. "Why are you so sweaty, Steven? You look awfully shiny."

"I'm not shiny. I don't shimmer. It is just warm in here." Hyde was on the defensive. 

"Yes you are. You are a shimmery Steven." Kitty laughed. 

Hyde rolled his eyes and leaned back into the sofa. His heart was thumping out of his chest as his body continued to try to get back to a relaxed state. He was half tempted to be an asshole and admit what was going on, but Eric would probably start crying. 

"Forget it," Hyde got up and headed for his room in the basement. 

***

Eric yawned. It was too cold to do anything, but remain where he was. Sure, there were things that needed to be done today, but he was not ready for all of that. He felt a large hand find a resting spot on his hip.  _Hyde. My Hyde._

He rolled towards his curly haired lover. He had no idea when Hyde had snuck into his bed, but he was glad that he did. Hyde let out some strange sort of groan accompanied by a sweet smile. Eric was pretty sure that there was no way in the world that he could be more lucky. 

He reached over to grab Hyde. He pulled him flush against him so they were touching in all of the right places. His hands slid beneath Hyde's waistband, moving the fabric just below his ass. He tightened his grip and enjoyed every inch of the exposed skin. Hyde moaned.

Eric slid his hands around to the front. He ran his fingers down the trail of dark hair that lead down to Hyde's thick manhood. He considered a few different options, all of which would leave his boyfriend rock hard. All of them were wonderful, but his hands were the closest. Plus, if someone walked in it would be easier to hide. Which left him wondering how Hyde had managed to get into his bedroom in the first place without anyone noticing. 

"What are you doing, Forman?" Hyde moaned, biting his lip to cover up any other sounds. 

"This," He muttered back, taking Hyde's shaft in his hands and stroking him stiff. 

"Alright," Hyde said with his left eyebrow up. He leaned his head back and enjoyed the feeling of Eric's long fingers tenderly giving him just the right amount of love.

There were people awake in the house. Red walked past Eric's room at least twice. Still, they kept quiet and finished the job just in time for school.


	8. Beauty of Whatever kind, In its Supreme Development, Invariably Excites the Sensitive Soul to Tears.

Steven leaned up against the wall back by the dumpster. He ashed what he promised would be his last cigarette and glared up at the cold grey sky. In a way the school dumpsters reminded him of Edna, but he tried to push those thoughts from his mind as quick as possible. It reminded him that he really needed to get out of Point Place, with Eric and his El Camino. He needed to find Eric. He dropped the half smoked cigarette and stomped on it. Enough of that. He actually had someone to care about now. 

The snow started to fall around him. He walked across the parking lot until he came up behind the petite male, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Damn you're fine,"

Eric spun around in his arms nervously, looking around to be sure no one could see them. "You're not too bad yourself," He chuckled.

"I'd love to just throw you down in the back seat and take you right now," Hyde said with a smirk.

"If we were anywhere, but here, I might just let you," Eric whispered into Hyde's neck. 

They got into the Vista Cruiser. Today they didn't have to worry about their friends joining them. It was nice to be alone. They laced their fingers together and shared a chaste kiss. 

"So, fun question, are we actually going to do something this time or just drive somewhere and fuck?" Hyde asked.

"Hmm...I am kind of hungry, maybe we should go on a real date?"

"Or we could work up an appetite, share our body heat, I could see that being a really good date," 

Eric's hand drifted to Hyde's waistline, pulling him closer. "Um, let me see about that, no, because I want to be taken out like a real boyfriend," 

Hyde kissed Eric. "Sure, we will go out to eat, that sounds like a plan, you are my boyfriend,"

Eric started the car. It took two tries because of the weather, something that Eric had been meaning to fix long before the temps got this low, but they were on their way in no time. 

The weather took a turn for the worse. The snowfall intensified to the point that the visibility had all, but dissipated. It made Eric uneasy. He hated driving at any time when the weather was bad. He wasn't even a big fan of driving in heavy rain. He was always waiting for something bad to happen. He felt Hyde move closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He was almost like a safety blanket. 

"Well, this is interesting," Hyde muttered.

"You mean the lack of traction or the fact that you are shaking?" Eric asked.

Hyde nuzzled Eric. He hadn't realized that he was shaking, but now he did. It made him feel like a girl. "Maybe a little bit of both, I think we should just go back to the house. I'll make some hot chocolate and we can snuggle in the basement...in my room...naked..."

"Oh, look at that, Hyde is afraid of the snowstorm,"

"No, I am not, I am not a fan of dying in the cold or running off the road in snow though,"

"Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right,"

***

"Steven, you are home," Kitty sounded a little more excited to see him than usual. 

Hyde turned away from the milk he was warming on the stovetop. "Yeah, where else would I be?"

"With Eric?" Kitty suggested. 

"Eric is downstairs,"

"He is!? He wasn't when I went down there earlier, it was just your friends." 

Hyde raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He continued to prepare the hot chocolate, secretly hoping there was whipped cream in the fridge. 

"Hey, Hyde, it is just you and me downstairs..." Eric called as he walked up. "...pretty sure my parents are gone too so we could, uh, do that thing you like..."

Hyde's face went beat red. His jaw dropped and he almost dropped the ceramic mug that was in his hands. Kitty's eyes were about to bug out of her head. Eric met the two of them with a similar expression. It took a lot out of him to not scream right then and there. 

Kitty chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, looking between her son and Steven pretty regularly. "Steven, what is that thing that you like?"

Hyde looked to Eric who was in a clear state of panic. They had a few choices on where to go from here. There were things that they could say that would get them off the hook, or they could come clean to yet another person. There was no way to determine the way that Kitty was going to react, especially since it had not been that long since Eric had broken up with Donna. 

"Steven?" Kitty repeated his name again, insisting she got a response. 

Eric debated moving closer to his lover. Then he considered taking a step towards his mother. It was too much. This time he was sweating and he did not like the reasons. 

"Steven, answer me!" She shouted, just low enough so any other occupants of the house wouldn't hear. 

Eric shuffled his feet. "Mom, maybe you should sit down," He took control of the entire situation and was not going to stop until it was all laid out on the table. 

"Okay, Eric," She sat down in one of the dining chairs. "I'm sitting down, now tell me what is going on,"

Eric took the chair closest to his mother, Hyde in the farthest. Hyde even took off his glasses for this. 

Eric cleared his throat. "Um, mom, I don't really know how to say this..."

"Well, somebody better say something," She said as her son trailed off.

Hyde leaned in, his arms across his chest. "Mrs. Forman, I am in love with your son. The two of us have been engaging in a romantic relationship. If you are going to blame anyone for it, blame me. I made the first move, I told him that I loved him, I decided to stop lying to myself. If all this means that I get kicked out of your house then so be it, but understand this: I love Eric more than anything in this whole world and I would do anything for him." 

He glanced over at Eric, who had one of the cutest smiles on his face. "I love him with a love that is more than love,"

"Hyde," Eric sang, feeling his heart swoon for his afroed lover. 

"You love him?...You love him?...You love each other?" Kitty asked the question with a heavy heart. She always wanted her son to be happy, but she also wanted to be happy because she wanted him to give her grandbabies and all of the other wonderful things that could have happened had he not broken up with Donna. "You two are together?" At this point, she was on the verge of crying, knowing that it could come at any second providing this exchange continued.

"I love him," Hyde repeated the words to solidify them for everyone in the room. 

"I love him as well," Eric whispered, taking Hyde's hand in his, looking at him lovingly. 

"You two cannot let your father find out about this," She said, throwing her hands up. "And I am going to pretend that I have no idea this is going on, in fact, I have already forgotten about the fact that you are violating my baby boy. Never want to hear about it again. I expect the two of you to be careful enough to not get caught again. Now, take your hot chocolate and leave my kitchen." 

"What?" Eric said, almost confused.

"Leave my kitchen, I don't want to look at either of you right now," Her voice shook as she tried to hide the fact that she was starting to cry. 

***

Eric had never felt more attached to Hyde then he did after his encounter with his mother. He was lucky that Hyde stuck to his guns and didn't back down in the exchange. It was a trait that might prove useful if Red ever did find out about them. And, as much as it hurt to see her crying over a lost future, Eric could not have been happier to have made such a stupid mistake. 

Obviously, because of all of this he felt the need to get even closer to his beloved. He sat beside him on the loveseat, sipping his hot chocolate, leaning his head against his shoulder. 

Hyde tensed. "Are you sure we should even be doing something like this? Red could come down here, or your mother. Did you see her face? She was heartbroken."

Eric sighed. "But she knows now, at least, even if she isn't fully accepting of the idea just yet. I love you, though, and that is all that really matters. You make me happy and I have been trying to do the same for you. I know this whole thing hasn't been easy, but isn't it better than going back into hiding and pretending that you don't love me all over again?"

"Damn your voice of reason," 

"Damn every part of you that I have fallen in love with," Eric playfully retaliated. 

"Damn how sexy you are," Hyde giggled, lightening the mood. 

"Maybe my stupidity actually helped us, in a way," 

"I don't know about that, but I do know that we are going to be playing a very interesting game with Red,"

"Hmm...it is almost hot, our forbidden love...kinda makes me want to got lay down on your cot,"

"Oh yeah?" Hyde asked. "I dare you,"

"Then it's on,"


	9. There Are Some Secrets Which Do Not Permit Themselves To Be Told

There was nothing as incredible as waking up in Hyde's arms. His muscles held him in place, tight against his body. He could feel his breath on his neck. It was lovely. Every last bit of it was lovely.

"Every morning I want to wake up beside you for the rest of my life," Hyde whispered in Eric's ear. 

"Oh, yeah?" Eric said sleepily. 

"Yeah, you are so beautiful when you are sleeping. I love watching you sleep, especially when you are in my arms." 

Eric rolled towards Hyde and kissed his neck. "You are insane, Steven," 

"No, I am in love, which I hear might actually make someone insane," Hyde laughed.

Hyde slid his hands down Eric's smooth body. He cupped Eric's ass, loving the way it felt. Then he pushed him down on his belly. His dick was already throbbing hard and ready to get on top. 

Eric raised his hand up, waving a finger in front of Hyde's face. He shoved Hyde down flat on his back. Then he got up on top of him. "Mmm..." 

"You are one naughty little boy, what would mother say?" Hyde asked with a wink. 

"I don't even want to know," Eric said as he licked one of Hyde's nipples. "I just want to know what I can make you say,"

Hyde bit his lip to keep a loud moan from escaping. Eric reached behind him and took a hold of Hyde's hard cock. He stroked the manhood he had come to love worshiping. Without another second of waiting he positioned himself over it and went down. His head tilted back and let out a huge sigh, feeling the heat overtake his entire lower half, tingles shooting up and down his spine. He rocked his hips forward, lifting ever so slightly. 

"Fuck, Eric," Hyde groaned, thrusting his hips upwards. 

Eric put his weight on Hyde's shoulders and began bouncing up and down. He slammed down hard, making sure that the head of Hyde's thick dick hit his prostate. "Shit, that feels amazing,"

Eric's own bobbing erection was begging for attention. He reached for it. Hyde smacked him away and took control. He flipped him onto his back, still deep inside of his lover. His thrusting became wild and fast. He did everything in his power to push himself even deeper into Eric. Eric's legs wrapped around his waist and his fingers clawed down his back in the tipping explosion of passion. 

"You're so fucking tight," Hyde gasped, going right back to stroking Eric as he neared the edge. "I fucking love it,"

"Cum inside me," Eric hissed before biting down on Hyde's shoulder. 

A few simple thrusts later and Hyde was filling Eric's insides. Hyde's powerful orgasm sent Eric into overdrive, his back arching up as he bit down on Hyde once more, letting off all over both of them. 

Hyde stayed on top of Eric for a moment, looking into his magnificent blue eyes. Eric was probably the most gorgeous in the afterglow. He loved to look at him. He rested his head on Eric's chest and looked up at him, a small smile came across his face as he fell more in love with the young man beneath him. "Eric, Eric, Eric,"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Eric asked.

"You're so pretty," Hyde mumbled. 

"You're not high...why are you talking like that?"

"Because, Eric, you are my love," Hyde started to laugh. "Mmm...my Eric,"

"I guess we can go with that," Eric smiled. 

Hyde quickly spun them around so that Eric was on top. He wrapped his arms tightly around Eric, hands right above his perfect ass. He pulled the blankets up over them and took him into a kiss. "Don't you ever tell a damn soul that I am this much of a softy,"

"Oh, all of our friends are going to find out about it," Eric chuckled. 

"I'll tickle you to your death if you do," Hyde scolded.

"Ha, that is a risk that I am willing to take," Eric replied with a wink.

***

"What is this?" Eric asked, sticking his finger into the batter that Donna was mixing. "Chocolate?" 

"Is chocolate red?" She asked.

"Um...no?

"Then what stupid part of your brain decided it was chocolate?"

"Donna, it tastes like freaking chocolate!" Eric shouted, sticking his finger in the batter again. 

She turned and smacked his light colored shirt with a red covered whisk. "There, does it still taste like chocolate?"

"No, I guess not," Even he knew that was going to leave a bunch of red lines all over his brand new shirt. He was going to have to enlist his mother if he had any hope of getting the stain off. "Evil, evil, woman,"

"It is red velvet, if your dumbass was actually wondering and no, it doesn't even look like chocolate. You can't tell the difference, get out of the kitchen!"

"Since when are you so hostile over baked goods?" Eric asked.

"Since you decided to leave me for a guy who wears sunglasses indoors,"

"Touche," He raised an eyebrow. "No, wait, not touche, you were kissing...I wanna say...Randy?"

"Then I will be the one to say touche. Haha, that kinda rhymed. Anyways, I'm making this cake as a surprise so you should leave."

"A surprise for me?"

"Sort of,"

"And, so close to Christmas? Uh oh, I hope that this is not my Christmas present. As your ex-boyfriend, wait, nope, I'll take the cake,"

Donna slugged him in the same arm that she had smacked the whisk against adding pain to the list of things she was going to do to Eric. "You're such an ass!"

"And, you Donna, are a crazy, violent redhead. I think we are even." 

"Don't be such a spaz, Eric, you really don't understand the half of it." 

Eric felt a bit fueled. He wanted to do something really stupid to make Donna mad. Unfortunately, he couldn't think fast enough, so he just dipped another finger into the batter and gave it a taste. This time it really didn't taste all that much like chocolate. Her mind control powers had been working. 

Just then Hyde walked into Donna's kitchen, only slightly shocked to see Eric there. "Hey Donna!"

"Hi Hyde, look what I did to Eric's shirt," She laughed, holding up the whisk that caused the damage.

"Nice," He shook his head. "I liked that shirt."

"Sorry,"

"Eh," Hyde shrugged. He wrapped an arm around Eric's tiny waist. "Ready to go, babe?"

"Yeah, but first," Eric dipped yet another finger in the batter, making Donna wince, and put it in Steven's mouth. "What does that taste like?" He hoped that Hyde's sunglasses had hidden the color enough to give him the illusion that it was brown chocolate batter.

"Red Velvet," Hyde chuckled. "Why?"

"Oh, forget it," Eric groaned before walking out of the Pinciotti household before Donna could inflict more damage. Hyde followed. 

***

It was not too long after they left Donna's that Hyde decided to cause more damage to Eric's new shirt. Not even allowing Kitty the chance to take a hack at the red velvet colored stain she would be presented with, Hyde ripped part of the sleeve off, intending to use it as a blindfold. Eric's eyes grew in shock as the fabric tore unceremoniously. His eyebrows were high as Hyde came at him with the strip of his once nice shirt. He was not sure where his boyfriend was going with all of this, and it was actually fearing it to his core. 

"You want me to trust you to lead me to wherever we are headed?" Eric asked, knowing already that Hyde had snaked the keys to the Vista Cruiser to avoid using the El Camino, which would have made it harder and more suspicious to pull everything off. 

"Hmm...yes," Hyde said with a devilish smirk.

Eric took a deep breath. "Okay, have at it then," 

"I will," Hyde said as he tied the fabric around Eric's head. 

"We are just going back to my house, aren't we?"

"That's a question of great irelevance to me, sorry," 

"Ba Humbug!" 

"It is not Christmas yet,"

"Whatever," Eric sighed, allowing Hyde to lead the way, including putting him into the passenger seat of the car. 

They did arrive at the Forman household fifteen minutes later. Hyde took great care to lead Eric into the house and down to the basement without Eric recognizing everything. His hands were held tightly to avoid him touching the walls or any other familiar objects. Even if Eric had known where they were going, he was not going to have the faintest idea of what was going to happen when he arrived there.

Finally, they were on flat ground with no more stairs. "Are you ready for me to take off your blindfold?"

"So, I can see what I imagine is my basement, sure?" Eric said, shaking his head lightly.

Hyde looked around the room, connecting with Jackie, Fez, Donna, and Randy. Kelso refused to make eye contact because every time that he did he started laughing. This was all so lovey-dovey and gushy. It freaked him out. It was awkward and unusual. 

He untied the makeshift blindfold and turned him towards the gang. They all yelled "Surprise!". And, what a surprise it was. 

 


	10. To Die Laughing Must Be The Most Glorious of All Glorious Deaths!

If ever this relationship ceased being whatever it really was, one thing could be taken away from it. Steven Hyde was a romantic at heart, although he was also often filled with melancholy, and his heart never beat stronger than it did for Eric. If such a thing wasn't true, Eric would not be looking at the masterpiece before him. The zen man of rock 'n' roll was also the one with the most beautiful mind.

Eric was still speechless even though at least three minutes had passed. At least three. There was no clock or actual frame of reference for him to determine this. There was only silence and the feel of Hyde's large hand on the small of his back, twitching ever so slightly as he waited for Eric to make some sort of comment. He had taken in his surroundings long enough, there should have been at least a bit of a reaction.

"Eric?" Hyde whispered, deciding he had waited long enough.

"Steven," Eric said, turning towards him. He said Hyde's name so slow and lusty, like a 40's or 50's movie star.

"What do you think?" Hyde asked his beloved, playing off of the tone of voice he was given in his first response.

Eric looked around again. Completely amazed. There were no words capable of encompassing exactly how he felt about the current set up down in the basement. It was beautiful. It was terrifying. The only other thing that related to that description was his relationship with Hyde and saying that would have made even less sense than him just standing there quietly.

Hyde had spent a lot of time setting up the party, if one could label it as a party. There were a few gifts, baked goods, and especially Donna's Red Velvet Cake. There were decorations, appropriately colored for Christmas to avoid suspicion. It was simple just as much as it was complicated and that made it perfect. The only problem in the scenario was that Eric had no idea why this was all happening.

"Well?" Hyde muttered.

"I love it, but what is it for?" Eric asked.

"Actually," Hyde chuckled. "It is the anniversary of the day I fell in love with you, well, it is the anniversary of the day I decided that I was in love with you..."

"Shh..." Eric pressed a finger against Hyde's lips. "You are the sweetest man I have ever met, you know that? I love you so much. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Literally. And, now, everyone is going to see who you really are."

"I kinda wanted them too, honestly,"

Eric's jaw dropped, for a quick second, anyways. "Um, really?"

"Yes," Hyde said very simply, collecting Eric into a tight embrace in front of all of their friends. "I am Steven Hyde. I am gay. I am in love with Eric Forman. I want to be with him for the rest of my life."

Kelso grunted. He could not have been more uncomfortable. He was completely content pretending that Hyde was not speaking at all and that none of this was really happening. He looked at the ground, wishing that they were sitting in a circle passing a joint rather than listening to this.

"Donna, hit him," Hyde told her.

She shook her head and grabbed a handful of the cake she made, sharing it with Randy. No one was sure exactly where their relationship stood. It was just weird.

Jackie stepped up to the plate. She walked over to where Michael was sitting and slugged him in the shoulder with all of her strength. When he buckled in the direction of the hit, holding his arm through the pain. She took an elegant bow while the rest of the gang cheered for her.

"That's my girl," Hyde laughed.

"Don't you forget it," Jackie smiled.

Eric finally had a moment to speak. "I am Eric Forman. I am also pretty damn gay. I am in love with Steven Hyde." As soon as he finished speaking he pulled Hyde into a deep, passionate kiss.

"Enough of this nonsense, let's eat cake," Hyde laughed.

For once, it seemed kind of normal. Hyde brought out his stash and rolled a joint. They all formed a circle, passing the joint as if there were not two new couples in the group. Little did anyone know, there was about to be a third. None of that mattered. All that mattered was that they were just friends being friends.

"I know what we could do, I know what would be the best thing ever, that we could do," Randy rambled. "We could, we could, play a game,"

Hyde's eyebrow shot up. "What game?" He held in giggles from Eric tickling him.

"Everyone has to tell three truths and a lie, the rest of us have to figure out what the lie is. It should be really easy for those of you who have known each other forever, but it could be fun."

"I like it, let's do that," Donna said with a smile.

This was just what Eric needed. He had been on edge since his mother found out about his relationship with Hyde. Hyde had been too, but this was the perfect little get together before Christmas. Sure, he would be seeing Donna like he did every single year, but everyone else would be spending time with their families. It was going to be a rough holiday. He figured that his mother would cry and Laurie would accuse him of keeping something from her. He wasn't really worried about those two, Red was the one who was going to kill him, or worse.

As everyone took their turns playing Randy's silly game Eric relaxed into Hyde's comfortable and muscular arms. He drifted off, thinking about the future, about where things could go from where they were. No matter how many ways he played out his life, there was always one very prominent feature: Hyde. They could go anywhere. They could be anyone that they wanted to be. Jackie had said it better than anyone else, Hyde had potential. The two of them were going to make one hell of a story together.

Finally, it was Eric's turn. He had barely been paying attention to the rest of the circle's responses so it almost took him by surprise. Almost. Hyde had nudged him right after Jackie finished, so he hadn't been completely out of it.

"Alright, alright. I want to be a teacher, I want to visit Cedar Point more than any of the amusement parks in our own state, I am a bottom, I love disco,"

"What are you the bottom of?" Fez asked.

Eric cringed. _Do I really have to tell him that?_

"He is the bottom with me, it means I fuck him in the ass," Hyde, king of bluntness, said with a wicked smile on his face.

"So, Eric is a girl? Makes perfect sense!" Jackie laughed.

Eric smacked his forehead. "Thanks, Hyde,"

"Anytime, so you want to be a teacher?" He asked.

I nodded. "I think I do, how did you know that wasn't a lie,"

"Because I asked if you wanted to go to Sandusky and you hit me,"

"Oh, yeah, I remember that," Eric said before hitting Hyde again. 

Kitty called down into the basement. "If anyone wants real food, they better get up here now,"

***

Blood dripped from his nose like a faucet. All of the pain had rushed towards the probably broken part of his face. It was a good thing no one was home. It allowed him to clean up in peace. It was going to be a while. 

_God dammit._

                                                                


	11. All That We See Or Seem, Is But A Dream Within A Dream

He quickly wiped away a majority of the blood as it continued to flow. He winced through the pain as he ran the washcloth against the parts of his face that were heavily injured. His vision was still a little blurry, but he was pretty sure that he had narrowly avoided needing stitches in his lip, and he was probably going to be able to reset his own nose, but the two sharp cuts on his cheekbone were more than likely going to be there forever. 

Since he had to reset his nose, there was no time like the present.

He took a deep breath, which was much more painful than he expected, and got a good grip on the part of his nose that seemed out of place. He made a swift motion to move it back, screaming in the process. At least with it out of the way, he would be able to focus on other things like explaining what had happened to everyone who was certainly going to ask. That was the thing about living with the Formans, they cared and were also very interested in other people's business. 

He wiped more of the blood off, hoping that it would be clotting soon. He took another deep breath and assessed the damage that had been done to his shirt. Out of all of the shirts he owned, he had worn a light colored one. Even with a miracle stain remover, there would be no saving the fabric. He was just going to have to change before anyone came home, especially Kitty. He might not have been on the best of terms with Mrs. Forman, but she was a nurse and she still would have done just about anything to keep him safe. 

_Good enough, I suppose._

Finally, he was satisfied with his altered mug. He dabbed an antiseptic over the wounds on his lip and cheek and called it good. The faster that he could forget about all of this, the better. He was willing to do anything to make sure that this was left in the past where it belonged. 

The only problem was that Eric probably already had caught wind of the whole ordeal and if he hadn't, he was going to freak out once he had.

Hyde left the bathroom and headed straight for his room in the basement. He changed his shirt, throwing the bloody one in the trash, and simply went on with his normal activities. He rolled a joint to help ease the throbbing pain and he was even able to take a short nap. Alone was suiting.

***

Eric arrived home late in the afternoon. He used the basement entrance, hoping to see Steven's smiling face when he walked through the door. In all honesty, as stupid as it all sounded, he missed him even when they were only apart for a few hours. It practically killed him. 

"Steven?" He called, receiving absolutely no response. "Steven?"

He quietly walked into Hyde's room, flipping on the light to get a better view. Hyde stirred awake as the bulb penetrated his already light sleep pattern. He glanced up at Eric, the smile taking over his injured face despite the wrenching pain that it caused.

Eric sat down on the edge of the cot. "What happened to you, there is blood all over your pillow, your face? What happened? Who did this to you?"

Hyde moved into a sitting position. "Some assholes that we go to school with, thanks to Kelso, that is,"

Eric's facial expression could barely contain the shock and confusion that was threatening to destroy his entire being. "Wait, what does that even mean? 'Thanks to Kelso'? What the hell does that mean?"

"He told them," Hyde muttered, looking down at the ground.

Eric reached a hand under Hyde's chin, pulling him closer. "He told someone that we are gay, that we are together?"

"Nope, your name didn't come up, just mine," Hyde sighed. "They were giving me a hard time because I defended this girl at school, you know, Sherry, she looks kind of like you, and somehow that triggered some stupid ass response out of Kelso while those guys were still trying to mess with Sherry."

"What exactly did he say?"

"'Hyde, you only came to her rescue because she looks like a boy, since you like us boys so much,' and though it was ridiculous sounding, they thought it was legitimate and found it a good enough reason to gang up on me three to one while Kelso took off." Hyde explained. 

"Did you at least get in a few good punches, because they did quite a number on your face?"

Hyde nodded. "I made two of them bleed, at least,"

"Good," Eric leaned in the rest of the way, kissing all of the bruises and cuts softly. "But, I am really just glad that you are okay,"

"If that is what you want to call this," Hyde chuckled, coughing in the midst of it. "I would say it is less than okay, see if I try to be helpful or nice to anyone again,"

"Just lie back, I'll lay with you and I'll get you whatever you need,"

Hyde did as he was told, wrapping his arms around Eric as soon as he joined him. The feeling of his beloved against him numbed the pain just enough for him to finally get some real rest. 

"I do not deserve you, Forman,"

"If you were not all banged up, this is the point in which I would be hitting you,"

They shared a kiss, lighter still than the soft ones that Eric laid upon Hyde's injuries. Then it was completely quiet. They both fell asleep on the cot, allowing the entire evening to drift away without reason. There was nothing that either of them had wanted more. 

***

"Let me get this clear: you made a comment about Hyde's sexual orientation in front of three bullies while he did his best to protect the new girl?" Donna asked Kelso, who was beaming and looked rather proud.

"Yup, and it was hilarious, they chased after him until I couldn't even see him anymore,"

Jackie's eyes widened with concern. "Have you seen Steven since then?"

"No! We still had classes to go to! I had to get to class. I am not the kind of guy who doesn't go to class." 

Donna took a sip of her drink as she looked around the Hub. "You are the kind of guy who doesn't go to class. You skip all the time."

"Yeah, so? I didn't want to miss class today, we had the hot young substitute today."

"You picked the hot teacher over one of your best friends?" Donna asked, a bit flustered.

"Yeah,"

Donna shook her head. Kelso was an enigma. There was really only a few layers of a very simple human being on the outside, but on the inside Kelso was also the biggest moron in the entire world and he hardly ever thought about the consequences before it happened.

***

It was almost ten at night when Hyde finally woke up again. Eric was still in his arms, sleeping soundly and looking devilishly more beautiful due to it. Hyde simply chose to absentmindedly stroke Eric's hair, enjoying just how soft it was. He was lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend. 

There were steps outside his room. Heavy, angry, definitely Red. 

Nothing good could come of him walking into his room and that includes now when they were both fully clothed. 

Hyde considered waking Eric up for just a moment, but he obviously was tired enough to need this extra time. Instead, he moved Eric's arms off of him and rolled him over so he was facing the door. Once Eric's position was right, he rolled towards the other wall and attempted to make it look like the most non sexual sleeping arrangement of all time. No matter what he did, he was failing, but at least he had tried.

Red turned the light on as Eric had done before him. He looked at the boys sleeping in the small cot together. He assumed that Eric had simply passed out downstairs while they were talking. He turned the light back off and left without a single word.

Hyde let out a huge sigh. He could not believe that he had gotten away with it. Kitty had told them to be more careful, maybe it was high time that they actually started following that advice. 

Either way, he was going to need a better plan. 


	12. I Have Great Faith In Fools

"Who wants to see what I found?" Donna asked, busting into the basement without warning. 

Eric looked up from his seat on the sofa. "Why are you being so loud?" 

"Do you want to see what I found, yes or no?" She asked, hands on her hips and sass ever present in her tone. 

"Uh, sure?" Eric mumbled.

"Great," Donna said, walking back out of the basement.

Eric didn't have anyone around to shrug at or to make a comment to. That actually hurt him inside. His life was not complete if he wasn't able to be sarcastic or ridiculous. 

Donna returned a few moments later, dragging Kelso inside behind her by the ear. He shouted in pain as she tugged, but he didn't struggle to get away. 

"Oh, I see you have found a Kelso," Eric said in monotone. "Good for you?"

"Yes, I did find Kelso, but what is the most important thing about him is what he has to say to Hyde!" 

"He is going to hit me!" Kelso shouted, still not making any attempts to escape Donna's grasp.

"Oh, okay, do you want me to go get him? He is laying on the cot in his room, but I am sure that he would just love to see his good friend Kelso." Eric asked.

Donna nodded. Kelso did not. 

Eric got up and walked over to Hyde's bedroom. Donna could hear the boys talking indistinctly, but she couldn't really make out more than just a few words. In less than a minute both of them came out of the room, Eric with an arm wrapped around Hyde's waist, keeping him strong despite all of his injuries. 

"Crap," Kelso muttered under his breath. 

Hyde looked over at Michael. As much as he wanted to be angry, as much as he wanted to go at him full throttle and beat the living hell out of him, he just could not be. The guys who hurt him were the ones to blame, Kelso was just Kelso. They had been messing with Sherry from the beginning of the situation. They started the violence. In a way, Hyde was actually thankful that Kelso had a big mouth because it got them to leave the poor girl alone in exchange for him. 

"Kelso, why is it that anytime I am around you I seem to get hurt?" Hyde asked, crooked smile on his face.

Kelso looked up. "Wait, you aren't going to kill me? After what I did?"

Hyde shook his head slowly. "No, I am not, mostly because I am too sore to hurt you," 

"They messed you up pretty bad, I kinda thought you could take them," Kelso said, stepping closer. Apparently, he was a fan of walking into dangerous territory. 

"Dammit, Kelso, let's see how you do three on one." Hyde groaned. 

Kelso didn't say a word. It was best that he remained silent. Donna stood off to the side with her arms crossed, watching this all unfold.

Eric brought Hyde over to the sofa. They sat down together, Eric's arm now around Hyde's shoulders. 

Kelso sat in the chair closest to them. "Ya know, things have been really different around here since you two started goin' out, everyone acts like there are things we can't say and things that we can't do and I just don't like it,"

Hyde really wished he had his sunglasses on. "Kelso, if you don't like that I am with Forman then you can find the door at any point," 

"That is not what I am saying," Kelso refused to make eye contact with Hyde.

"Then please tell me what it is that you are saying," 

Donna suddenly could not get over the fact that Hyde was the most intelligent, well spoken male member of their group. When she thought about his looks, his voice, and his brain, it wasn't that hard to understand why Eric fell for him. Hyde was an interesting person, with lots of ideas. She was amazed that she had not noticed it before.

"I don't like that you two are gay, for one, it creeps me out, I am constantly checking to see if you are looking at me. We have seen each other naked." Kelso began.

Hyde barely shrugged. "So, Eric and I used to get bathed together, but we were kids back then, it did not mean anything, it was convenient and it was embarrassing. If you don't like something that is going on here, you CAN find the door!"

"But..."

"But what?" Hyde asked. "You either continue on being our friend, like you have been for years, or you can run away like a coward due to some far fetched idea and an inability to be comfortable with your own sexuality? You better believe you are going to apologize to me for all of the stupid things you have ever done to me if you pick the first option."

Kelso got up from the chair. He stood there, silently, looking down at Eric and Hyde for at least a minute. He let out a sigh and walked towards the door, leaving the basement. 

Donna took the seat that Kelso vacated. She looked at Eric and Hyde with adoration. She appreciated them both, even if one was her ex and the other was the zen rockstar that didn't have a care in the world even though he was a major brain. Their relationship was the kind of relationship that people aspired to have. 

"He is an idiot," She told them.

"Yep, but if he is going to act like that then I really don't even want to look at his face," Hyde said with a roll of his eyes.

Kelso came back through the door. He moved in front of the television to speak. "I am sorry, Hyde. I really am. I don't know why I am acting so stupid. Please continue to be my friend."

Hyde smiled. "Good,"

"Good?" Kelso questioned. 

Eric leaned into Hyde who kissed him. "You will just have to get used to us, because this isn't a phase or something that is going away,"

***

Eric had his legs on either side of Hyde. Hyde had his arms wrapped around Eric to hold him in place. They were both naked, moving in a perfect rhythm in their passion. Eric bounced up and down on Hyde's throbbing cock, making sure it hit him deeply. Hyde thrusted his hips up, harder and harder into Eric's tight hole. 

"Fuck!" Eric shouted, feeling the length of Hyde inside of him. 

"Yeah? You like that?" Hyde asked, burying his head in Eric's warm neck. 

"Yeaaah," Eric moaned, rocking his hips.

Hyde was still a bit sore, but he could still fuck Eric like a champ. He swiftly moved, putting Eric on his back on the sofa. He continued to thrust with all of his strength, eliciting primal cries from his lover that shook him to his core. The very basic urges took over and suddenly his only focus was getting both of them off. 

The two moved together. They kissed and nibbled and went through all of the stages of pleasure. The tension built up. Both boys were sent over the edge into a body trembling orgasm. They called out each other's names, rocking against each other in the final throes. 

Hyde collapsed onto Eric. He nuzzled his chest and wrapped his arms around his waist again. "Thanks, I really needed that,"

Eric sighed, the afterglow taking over. "I needed that more than you,"

"Doubtful," Hyde chuckled. 

The lights in the basement flicked on randomly. Kitty had came downstairs to put in a load of laundry. It was then that it became apparent that they should have gone in the bedroom or into Eric's room at the very least. 

Kitty dropped her basket of laundry on the floor when she laid eyes on her naked son and naked foster son in each other's arms. 

"Hello, Mrs. Forman," Hyde mumbled.

"I thought I told you two not to be seen together,"


End file.
